


Beyond the Forest Edge

by Skelitzel



Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game), underswap
Genre: Fic inspired by art, Forbidden Forest, Language Barrier, M/M, Village AU, edge thinks rus is incompetent but not necessarily a threat, rus and blue are orphaned, those who we do not speak of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 08:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14849156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skelitzel/pseuds/Skelitzel
Summary: Long ago, monsters became divided between the old ways of magic use and conforming to a more modern, peaceful society in an attempt to find harmony with humans. After much internal fighting and turmoil, the monsters who chose to live with the old ways abandoned the settlement and were banished to the forest, while the peaceful monsters remained secluded in a small village hidden amongst the trees. It is rumored those who we do not speak of had promised to protect their former kin in exchange for offerings, but no one knows if they truly protect or if their desires to guard their territory cause a happy side effect.No one enters the forest, not unless deemed necessary by the Elders. Rus however, is pushed to explore the forest alone after his little brother, Blue, has fallen ill for far too long. Neither of them have enough gold to purchase a cure. Medicine is hard to come by after all when everyone in town is terrified to enter the forest to collect herbs for fear of invoking wrath of trespassing. Rus has already lost his parents, he can’t lose his brother too, and so he ignores all warnings and sneaks under the cover of darkness beyond the forest edge. Once there though, he finds so much more than he bargained for.





	Beyond the Forest Edge

**Author's Note:**

> Village AU inspired by lovely art by @cheapbourbon found here!
> 
> http://cheapbourbon.tumblr.com/post/174314586879/the-village-au-aka-when-you-find-out-the

Rus pulled up the hood of his cloak over his skull, wrapping it tightly around him while he darted through the shadows, keeping to the sides of buildings and away from open spaces. He breathed through parted teeth, watching as villagers passed by, finishing the day’s work and retiring for the night.

 

No one can see where he planned to go.

 

Gods, not even he wanted to go there.

 

But…

 

He grit his teeth as he watched the door click shut, the village quiet, and briskly ran across the clearing, underbrush and shrubs quickly scattering in his path. His soul thrummed with ice as the trees began to thicken, their branches blocking out the stars.

 

“Shi…. why…” he muttered, reaching out a shaky hand to rest on a tree, his other clutching at his sternum. Don’t look back. Don’t look at the warm glow of the torches. Don’t look at the safety of the village within the forest. Don’t… His skull started to turn toward his home… don’t…. don’t look. If he looked back he’d chicken out again, and Sans couldn’t go another day without treatment. Rus closed his eye sockets, feeling his breaths expand and collapse within his ribs. This darkness was no different, just the safety behind his bony eyelids.  He could do this, he had to push forward. For his brother.

 

He’d been falling down more and more frequently, the little fool. He just wouldn’t sit still or let himself rest, always determined to work the fields with Alphys and the others. Time and again, Rus had to carry him home on his back and place a cool rag on his forehead. Time and again, he’d comfort Sans and smile through his worry. Time and again, he’d toss and turn throughout the night, worrying that the next morning he might be waking up alone.

 

If only medicine wasn’t so hard to come by, and what could be found was so expensive. He’d asked around, but Doctor Undyne’s prices were way too high. And her ideas of collateral were… well, not exactly ideal. Even just a diagnosis of what herbs could help Sans had cost him a hefty sum.

 

He stumbled onward, cursing under his breath as the moonlight struggled to shine through the trees. Just a bit further before he lit his torch, he didn’t want to think about what the Elder would do catching him here, this far out. Only a select few were permitted to venture into the cursed forest to search for supplies.

 

“Oh thank the gods,” he whispered, pushing through the branches to reveal a moonlit clearing, sprinting forward and bracing his hands on the large trunk of the singular tree in the midst of wildflowers and tall grass. “Okay, okay,” he repeated to himself, his soul starting to race again. Fumbling through his cloak, he reached into one of his pockets for the piece of parchment with a picture of what he was looking for scribbled on it. “I just need… dammit what is this?” His hands just wouldn’t remain steady, and he tried to hold it to see more clearly in the moonlight. Undyne was definitely a doctor, not an artist, but could she have made this any more impossible to decipher?

 

Probably. It wouldn’t be unlike her to-

 

_Snap._

 

Rus whirled around, bracing his spine against the trunk as his soul pulsed with ice. What was that? His rib cage began to expand and collapse in quick, fearful pants. Cold invisible fingers tugged at the edges of his cloak, threatening to take any semblance of comfort he had left with their grasp. Just the wind, it was just the wind.

 

He let out a soft laugh, resting his hand on his face. “Look at me,” He closed his eye sockets and focused on calming his breath, his legs shaking ever so slightly beneath him, murmuring, “shaking like a leaf, maybe I’m more welcome here than I thought.” He looked up at his kindred spirits dancing in the breeze, smiling softly.

 

He moved to kneel, starting to inspect the various flowers around him, the crude drawing making it almost impossible to match with any of them. But he had to keep trying, for Sans. In an effort to quicken his search, his senses to his surroundings became dulled as he picked through the flowers, turning them in the moonlight and holding them up to the drawing. No… this one had too many leaves… this one had the wrong petal shape… and this one-

 

_Crack._

 

That sounded much closer than before, and it was definitely too heavy to be the wind. Puzzled, he looked over his shoulder and around the tree trunk to the source and nearly blacked out.

 

It was one of _them_. Those we do not speak of. They were _real._

 

He almost wished his legs were shaking like before, for now they were rooted to the spot where he knelt, unmoving and unfeeling. The hunched figure approached the clearing slowly, untouched by the wind as its long arms outstretched, seeming to almost embrace nature’s movements and dance alongside. How he had heard it approaching before seemed like such a fluke, the beast stalked with such elegance and grace.

 

As it emerged from the trees and into the moonlight, its bleached white skull mask seemed to glow, eye sockets hollow and empty. He’d find no mercy from this being. He needed to run. He stole his glance away, squeezing his eye sockets shut and forcing himself to stand painstakingly slow. If death wasn’t looming before him he would’ve laughed at the odd desire of wanting to mimic the silent movements of one of _them._

 

More so, he didn’t want to end up becoming one of their masks.

 

He pushed off the trunk, taking a step forward and preparing to bolt. The moment he opened his eye sockets though, his very scream died before it could leave his teeth.

 

The creature stood before him, its own cloak a vibrant red, shameless in its contrast to the foliage of its territory. The color of the arcane. The scent of smoke and dried blood wafted up to his nasal cavity, and he recoiled back against the tree. Would this thing use him for some forbidden ritual? 

 

If it noticed his cowering, it didn’t pay his reaction any mind, rather placing a hand on its hip with a deft movement, the cloak brushed back to reveal a crude axe. It tilted its head down, voice muffled yet sharp, “Dued etaekuruh edqe sahk ruhku, Sahkekuge?”

 

The natural urge to find something tangible, something familiar, overwhelmed his mind as Rus searched the empty mask, wanting to find some semblance of a kindred spirit. They had once been monsters too hadn’t they? Long ago in the village before they were banished. His teeth parted, but no words came.

 

The being seemed annoyed, retrieving the axe from its holster as it repeated its question, “Eku ruh dued etaekuruh edqe sahk ruhku, Sahkekuge?” The way it seemed to bristle at his silence was almost fascinating, but his admiration was cut short when it yelled, “Qu sahk do, Sahkekuge!”

 

The air around him felt heavy, gripping his soul like a vice and forcing him to kneel. He yelped as his legs gave out to the weight, struggling to keep his shoulders from collapsing with the pressure. The paper left his grasp as he planted his palms to the ground, his arms quivering to resist this alien energy forcing him down. As much as he’d argue against having any sense of pride, he refused to die so pathetically prostrate before this beast.

 

He looked up as the axe was wielded high, the edge seeming to shine beautifully in the moonlight, glittering as if it could never be used as a horrific tool of death. “Wait!” he cried out, as the axe was swung toward him, his voice desperate, “Please, you can speak, can’t you?”

 

The beast swung, and as the axe bore down its path, Rus looked up to the pitiless mask. He had no time for regrets. No time to wish for another chance, or even to think of any last words he could say.

 

Instead, all he could think to whisper was, “I’m sorry, Blue,” his voice cracked and a tear leaked from his eye socket, “I keep failing to protect you.”

 

Abruptly, the axe stopped mere inches from his cervical vertebrae, and the creature’s cloak still flowed from the strength of the blow. The masked face tilted to the side, an accusatory tone, “Sahk ku fadu?” It squatted down, flipping the axe expertly in the air and catching it by the blade, using the hilt to tip hook under Rus’s mandible, tilting his skull up. “Du ku sahk ku ekuquge ruh?”

 

The invisible imprisonment of his soul still remained, and he couldn’t flee. Being this close to one of them was… would it be wrong to say intriguing? Being trapped here, forced to look, he couldn’t help wanting to take in every detail. The mask appeared to be from a large wolf, and its cloak had stitch marks and mend sites where it had been torn countless times. Rus idly wondered why a creature would be almost sentimental to a piece of cloth, wanting to mend it so many times. Spikes protruded from its back, much like a porcupine for protection. From what, he couldn’t fathom. Unfortunately, all of the being’s body was covered in various pieces of cloth and bindings, making it difficult to find any defining features, but it didn’t seem so… primal as before.

 

It made a soft clinking sound, tapping the end of the handle against his jaw, “Eku saked sahk, sahk'qe ku kuruh gerohruhekukah qurohruh. Fadu dah ku Eku ge  shi sahk.”

 

“You’re…” Rus started to say before his arms gave out and he collapsed onto the ground.

 

The being leapt back, settling into a stance mid crouch, one hand on the ground and the other holding the axe close to its side, ready to lunge.

 

Perhaps it was still a little primal.

 

“Du, Eku eku' eta Eku sahk' daheku eku sahk.” was its firm reply, slowly moving back to sit more comfortably as it stared at him.

 

“Sorry, could you… could you release whatever hold you have on me please? I won’t run, I swear.” Rus asked softly, chancing another look at them. “I’m too exhausted to run.”

 

The being rolled its shoulders, approaching slowly and snatching at the paper he had dropped. “W-wait-“ He tried to sit up again, “Please, I need that-“

 

“Dued eku ekueku edgekah? Ed meekuruh faruh?” Its tone had become softer, inquisitive. It raised the paper high, holding it between thumb and forefinger, “Sak sakedqua ge…”

 

Suddenly, the pressure around his soul vanished, and he shot upright without the resistance to keep him down. The back of his skull thunked against the trunk and he cursed, “Ow, what the hell was-“ he jumped and held his hands up as the being abruptly appeared before him, tapping at the paper.

 

"Du ku sahk do sak sakedqua ge? Duku eku qua?” Its questions where insistent, but he had no idea what it was asking for.

 

“M’sorry, I- please just let me have that back-” He reached out to take the parchment from it.

 

Much to his annoyance, it leaned back, keeping the paper from his reach, “Duku eku qua?”

 

He groaned and rested against the tree, bringing his legs up and resting his arms on his knees. “Look, I don’t know if you can understand me, but I need that. It’s for my little brother, Blue.” He sighed and looked up at the stars, “Well, most just call him Sans, but he’s been sick for a really long time, way too long.” He clenched his fists and spoke softer, “I can’t lose Blue too.”

 

The creature was quiet, motionless. Then, very faintly, it whispered, “… Blue…”

 

In surprise, he looked down at them just as the were standing up, “You understood?” If they had, they were ignoring him again, turning away and adjusting their mask. Undyne’s drawing still clutched in their grasp, Rus tried to get up to retrieve it, shouting, “Wait, I said I need that! Do you know how much gold it cost me?” His bones still ached from resisting the pressure from before, and his legs gave out before he could stand.

 

The one who no one speaks of swiftly returned to the trees, scarlet red vanishing into the night.

 

Rus remained where he was, caught between confusion and awe. Those we do not speak of really did exist, and whatever it had used on him had to be a forbidden spell. “Oh gods no!” he groaned, clawing at his skull and pressing his forehead to the dirt. He lost Undyne’s note! How was he supposed to find the right plant now?

 

“It was… ugh I don’t know what color,” he started mumbling to himself, crawling forward and searching frantically. “Were the leaves like this? Or this? None of these look right!” He didn’t want to unintentionally poison his brother, but he didn’t have enough to buy another drawing.

 

A shadow moved across the clearing, and he looked up to see the sky was becoming overcast, beginning to block out what little moonlight there was. If he didn’t start heading back now he’d be lost in the dark completely. And no one would be there to care for Sans.

 

With a heavy soul, he forced himself to retreat, hugging the cloak close around him and keeping his skull cast low. Perhaps he could venture out again, find some cover in the daytime with no one noticing. It’s not like anyone really paid attention to the two of them as it was, only expecting him to watch the flock or patrol the perimeter during undesirable hours. At the very least, Sans had seemed stable the last few days, his condition neither improving or worsening, so he could take solace in that regard.

 

Maybe he could negotiate a different trade when he got back, something that didn’t involve her experiments. He sighed, having forgotten the fear that had clung to his soul since entering the forest. He was much too dazed at this point to feel anything at all.

 

“Quafa, va qua eku vavos?” The voice as so close behind him, Rus couldn’t help letting out a yelp as he whirled around.

 

They were back, so tall and imposing standing before him. He placed a sternum on his hand, exasperated, “What the hell was that for? You scared the shit outta me!”

 

With a grunt, they withdrew a parcel from their cloak, “Sak sakedqua ge.” They held it out, arms outstretched and shaking it slightly as if to insist he take it. “Edvos qua.”

 

“N-no thank you,” He laughed nervously, taking a step back, “I’m not really keen on making any deals with you.”

 

The way the monster moved with such an exaggerated shrug he would’ve bet they rolled their eyes behind their mask. “Gequ edvos ku ed sahk.” They stepped forward again, offering it again.

 

With a closer look, the bundle seemed to be delicately wrapped with leather from some small animal hide, maybe a hare or a fox. He feigned a smile, shaking his skull again, “I’m good, really. I’m just going to go back home now, okay?” Making offerings for peace and protection from those we do not speak of was one thing, but no one ever _ever_ made a deal with one of them.

 

The being sighed, still holding out the parcel with one hand while reaching to remove the mask with the other. Rus tensed, wondering if they were going to punish him for refusing their offer. Instead, he was mystified by their appearance, so similar and yet so much more. A skeleton, bones hardened and weathered by storms, scarred from unseen predators and threats. His red eyes burned with intelligence far succeeding any other creature Rus had seen within the fringes of the forest, such depth  he felt he could become engulfed of he looked too long. His fangs were sharp and menacing, and yet his expression seemed almost tender, pitying. “Blue.” He said in a commanding tone, his voice husky and full of confidence.

 

“Blue…?” Rus repeated, numbly holding up his hands to catch the parcel as the being dropped them. Wait, did he- He unwrapped the leather and gasped, finding perfectly dried herbs just waiting to be brewed into tea. “Th-This is-“

 

“Sak sakedqua ge. Blue.” He repeated as if talking to a child, stepping back with a nod. “Edvos qua vossahk.”

 

Without a thought, Rus clutched the parcel to his sternum and bowed his skull. “Th-thank you!” He straightened and stepped forward, reaching out, “Is there some way I can return the favor?” He worried what it could be, but he didn’t want to risk getting cursed.

 

The monster before him tensed and stepped back, resting a hand on his axe, “Eku kiieku vavos qe. Do quavos eku qua qu do vaqua sahkvos.” His words sounded like a warning, but the harsh tones from before seemed quieter.

 

Rus hesitated, looking at the monster and back to the village, early morning torches beginning to light. His soul thrummed with relief knowing he wasn’t too far from home. He turned back to speak to them again, but they had vanished. He closed his eye sockets and inhaled a deep breath, the weight of anxiety finally leaving his soul. With a small grateful grin, he carried on the hidden path, sneaking his way back to the village.

 

Unbeknownst to him, the red cloaked monster sat high among the trees, watching. He waited until Rus made it to the outer edge, soon out of sight and outside of his territory. He sniffed the paper the strange creature had left, smelling various herbs and other strange scents. Curious. 

 

He leapt down from the tree branch, tucking the parchment into his cloak and withdrawing his axe.

 

Curious, but now was the time to hunt.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I do have more ideas, so any comments of interest or questions is appreciated! Have a wonderful day :D
> 
> PS: Edge's language is from a fake language generator, and while he is saying something it's not supposed to translate through some known language. If it does and says something offensive that I didn't catch please let me know!


End file.
